Signs You're Falling In Love
by RoseWoodsPrettiestLiar
Summary: Lily comes back from patrol and finds her friends in the Common Room. Two of them are playing chess, one is reading Witch Weekly. What happens when one of them takes the test, is definitely not pleased with the outcome and peeks Lily's curiosity? What will the consequences be when Lily takes a test called 'Signs You're Falling In Love? COMPLETE !


**Signs you're falling in love…**

**Note from the author:** Hey all! I've finally completed my first ever Jily-fanfic. I really hope you'll enjoy this story. It's taken me months (and I'm not kidding) to write and complete this and I've only just now finished it. Before you start reading, there are some things you need to keep in mind: this story was written whenever I had the time for it. At some point a few weeks went by without me working on it, so if the connection of the story isn't that great: I apologize. Furthermore, in this story Lily never really hated James like she does in some of the other amazing stories on this site. She only very much disliked him. Also, some of you might have read 'Hogwarts' Very Own Femmes Fatales' once upon a time? That story was mine, too and you'll notice that I'm using the same characters. (No use looking for that story, because I've deleted it. I am rewriting it, though. I just have no clue as to when it'll be online?...) Anyway, I wish you a happy reading and I hope you won't forget to review at the end. –RPL

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything you might recognize. It all came from the Great J.K. Rowling. I also didn't think of the Signs. It's just something I came across while surfing the internet.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

LILY POV:

I was positively drained of energy when I stomped my way up to Gryffindor Tower. I had just finished up doing rounds for the night and while everything had gone smoothly for most of it, the universe had felt like ruining my otherwise perfectly fine evening.

It started in the dungeons. Apparently, some of Slytherin Seventh Years thought it would be funny to lure some naïve Hufflepuf First Years into a Vanishing Cabinet. They even locked them inside with a spell that powerful that I needed to send Professor Flitwick a Patronus to ask for assistance.

_I've never felt less worthy of my position as I did right there…_ I muttered spitefully. _Standing there, in front of my fellow students, needing the assistance of a Professor…_

And as Merlin himself would have it, those Slytherin idiots had no idea of the possible destination of the First Years and as such, I had to go in the Vanishing Cabinet myself, let myself be transported Merlin knows where (several times), find the missing students, Apparate them back into Hogsmeade and walk them all the way back to the castle.

Normally, I would just shrug it off and consider it one of my Prefect duties, but tonight I didn't feel like being sent all over the bloody country. You want to know why?

Well, have I mentioned it's bloody twelve degrees Celsius in bloody **April** ? And that it's raining cats and dogs for twenty-three hours out of the twenty-four in a day?

All in all, I think you understand this was not how I had imagined my last day of Easter Break ending… Let's just say I was **not** amused…

Completely lost in my musings as I was, I hadn't noticed I'd arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady who was impatiently looking down at me, waiting for me to give her the password so she could continue sharing her newest gossips with her best friend.

"Fireflies," I grumbled at her.

"Dear, dear, someone's in a bad mood…" The Fat Lady's friend whispered none too quietly.

"Happens regularly," the Fat Lady answered just as loudly. "Although usually when she's in a mood like this one, she's running away from that Potter-boy."

"The handsome Quidditch-playing one? With the windswept hair, deep hazel eyes and the crooked grin?"

"The exact same one…" The Fat Lady nodded, her eyes glazing over as she thought of Gryffindor's Golden Boy.

"Aren't they… like destined to end up together?" The best friend (I honestly couldn't be bothered to think of her name) almost jumped up and down in the portrait in excitement.

"I think so… He thinks so… All of their friends think so… All of Gryffindor House thinks so… Hell, I bet even Dumbledore thinks so… Only, little miss Prissy Pants here doesn't think so…"

"Shame…" Both sighed at the same time.

"You two do know I can hear you right?" I snapped. The duo looked as if they couldn't care less. I smirked evilly as I thought of a way to get revenge on those nosy nitwits and slammed the portrait shut on my way in. Both rattled in the canvas. I could hear the Fat Lady's insults following me into the Common Room.

I grinned and continued my way further into the almost empty Common Room as I felt the warmth of the fire seeping into me and my bad mood disappearing.

* * *

I felt my grin transforming into a soft smile of contentment and happiness, the coming home-kind. I spotted my friends sitting on the couches in front of the fire where Alice and Marlene were playing a game of chess, their legs outstretched underneath the coffee table, while Inez, who had stretched herself out over the whole couch, was reading this week's Witch Weekly.

"Hi guys…" I smiled at them as I flopped down in the armchair next to Inez' couch.

"Still a girl!" was Inez' muffled response whereas Alice and Marly merely waved, too focused on not letting the other win.

"What have you lot been up to?" I asked while I nicked at Bertie Bott's out of the bowl on the table.

_Pudding… Finally the universe has been righted again… _I sighed as I got more comfortable in my seat and enjoyed my candy.

"Nothing much," Marly replied.

"Same as every other lazy evening," Alice shrugged.

"They played chess, I read a magazine, Alice drooled over Frank Longbottom…" Inez flipped a page. "Same old, same old. You?"

"Nothing much either, just got stuffed in a Vanishing Cabinet by Flitwick, got sent all over the country to find some missing First Years and walked three miles through the English rain listening to the First Years whining about how their parents would be so disappointed in them…"

Marlene lifted her eyes from the board and lifted an eyebrow. In that little moment of distraction, I could see Alice, who was now losing the game, attempting to lure Leo, Inez' little kitten, out of its hiding spot.

The little fellow had more than likely been watching the moving pieces for the last ten minutes and was gathering his courage to attack the board, throwing scared little glances at Marlene. (She wasn't much of a cat-person and somehow Leo had picked up on that one pretty soon.)

"Care to elaborate?" asked Marlene. "Leo, don't you dare. Alice, you sore loser! Getting Leo to upset the board so we'd have to start over… Jeez… You're even worse than Inez!"

Leo, who had been caught in the act he had yet to commit, chose the safe way out and clambered up on the couch to curl up on top of Inez's tummy.

"I object!" Inez huffed. "I am no sore loser!" Marlene and I looked at her as if to say 'Do you honestly believe that?!'

"Neither am I!" Alice sputtered.

"You are." Was our friend's answer from behind her magazine. "What happened, Lil?" she asked me, changing the subject.

"Slytherins…"

The other three motioned with their heads as if that one single word explained it all. Which it did.

"What do you guys want to do on our last night of Easter Break?" I asked while taking another sweet out of the bowl.

Alice threw over her King and forfeited the game. She shrugged. "Don't know…"

"Why don't we see if there's a Ouija-board around here somewhere? Or a deck of exploding cards?" Marlene asked, eager for a bit of action.

"Don't feel like it," I said lazily. "Anyone else?"

As Alice opened her mouth with twinkling lights in her eyes, which could only lead to us doing something crazy and getting detention, Inez choked on the piece of gum she had in her mouth.

Leo shot up and stared around in fright. As he noticed Inez coughing severely, he thought the better of it and ran up the girls staircase to find a more suitable place for sleeping.

_Cowardly lion… _I muttered. I patted Inez on the back and conjured her a glass of water.

"What happened?" Alice asked. She was scrambling for the chess pieces as she had thrown over the board in surprise.

"The magazine…" she whispered. "It says I'm in love..?"

"What's she blubbering?" Alice asked annoyed. "I can't understand a single word coming out of her mouth…"

"The magazine declares Inez to be in love…" Marlene and I sputtered.

All we heard was a loud "BONK" which indicated Alice had dropped the wooden box of chess pieces.

* * *

"The magazine, sweetie?" Marlene asked a frozen in shock-Inez with a gentle tone. "How could a magazine say you're in love?"

"The test…" She said, pointing at the forgotten magazine. "It's on page 45."

I flipped through the magazine, looking for page 45. I quickly found the test she was babbling about.

"What does it say, Lil?" Alice asked eagerly. "Read it out loud…"

"Maybe you should," Marlene said in a teasing tone. "Might help you clear up your feelings for one Mister Longbottom."

"No need," Alice said without even the slightest hint of a blush. "I already know I'm in love with Frank Edward Longbottom. If it were a test on what kind of wedding gown one should wear, then sure, but something as silly as that…" For once I let the weird workings of Alice' mind slip by and cleared my throat.  
I started reading the article.

"Not sure what that funny feeling is?! Are you thinking that you may be in love or may be falling in love?! Witch Weekly presents the test which will help you figure it out! Since this is a magical magazine, you won't be able to lie. The test will detect your reactions to every one of the characteristics and our conclusion will be lit up! Turn this page to find tips and tricks to make your loved one your Loved One."

"Sounds promising," Marlene voiced sarcastically. It was common knowledge that Marlene hated the superficial magazine. Inez slapped her on the shoulder and shot her a nasty look.

Did I tell you that, contrary to her bad girl-reputation and devil-may-care-attitude, she swore by the girly magazine?

I decided to distract Inez before she whacked Marlene over the head with her beloved magazine.

"And the 'You're in love! Congrats!'-box lit up?" She nodded vehemently. "Who's the lucky guy?"

I didn't know where I got the courage to ask her that, since everyone knew you **never** asked Inez about any kind of feelings. The last one who did, was Peter Pettigrew. He asked her how she felt about missing a shot at the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch game (Pettigrew liked to pretend he was the sports' announcer) and she hit him with a mean left hook. She broke his nose and right eye-socket…

"Eurhm…" she sputtered and blushed to the roots of her dark brown hair. "I don't know… I mean… It's only a magazine, right? And who even believes that shit?"

"You're blushing?!" Marlene had noticed the change of color too. "You are definitely thinking of one guy in particular. Sure, it's only a magazine. But you believe it and the fact that you pretend to not believe in it, your holy Witch Weekly, makes us suspect that you just had your worst fear confirmed to be true. Now, spill it."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Inez started sitting upright. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go brush my teeth."

"Sit. Who is he?" Marlene had almost literally sprouted little devil horns and I could see the determination in her eyes to find out who Inez' mystery man was.

Inez shrugged mysteriously, made a zipping motion over her mouth and pretended to throw away the key.

"So there is a guy!" I shrieked. Inez slammed her hands over her mouth as she realized she had confessed.

"Nice. Now, one last time; Who is he?" Inez still shook her head. "Lily," Marly said. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Sure do, Marly," I grinned. "We _so_ know him, but she doesn't want us to know who he is!"

"Must be one hell of a guy if Inez is scared to lose him to another girl…" Marlene continued the teasing.

"Please… Are you really telling me you two don't know who she's in love with?" Alice scoffed. Marlene and I shot her surprised looks.

"And you do?" Marlene asked her. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sure do…" Alice said. "Haven't you guys noticed how she talks in her sleep? He's all she talks about while she sleeps, name and House… And when she's awake, she can barely keep her eyes off of him. And there's always this little bit of drool that forms in the corner of her mouth when he enters the room…"

"I do most certainly not drool!" Inez replied affronted. "You do, honey!"

Alice put the chess board in the closet next to the fireplace.

"Who is he, then, oh almighty one?" Inez dared Alice. "Hit me with your guess!"

I really wanted to know who the guy was, but at the same time my eyes were drawn to the article. I lost track of the conversation.

* * *

_**Characteristic 1: You'll read his messages over and over again-**_

I re-read the line and had my mind transported back to the weekend before the Valentine's Day-Hogsmeade trip. Potter had already asked me out 20 times during the week and when I had finally gotten rid of him by going to breakfast during the Quidditch match, an owl dropped a little note in my lap.

_Dear Lily –_it said.

_I know you don't like my usual ways of asking you out and I swear I'm changing my tactics. It's just… old habits die hard, Lily-flower. (Oops, see what I mean? Another mistake of mine!)_

_I really would like to spend an afternoon with you, Lily. It doesn't even have to be a date. It could merely be two Housemates hanging out together, finally really getting to know each other after 5 years.(Did you notice how I used the word 'housemates' and not friends? I'd really like to write you a note of this sort one day, using the word 'friends'.)_

_Please, Lily, just one afternoon. I'm not even asking for our meeting – see, I didn't call it a date – to be during the Valentine's weekend. _

_I'm only asking for one afternoon. Actually, I'm very near to begging by now._

_Please, Lily. I won't even say that I love you, unless you want me to. __…_

_Please Lily. Please._

_Sincerely_

_James _

I still know his exact words by heart. That note, delivered to me while he knew no one would be around to see it being delivered, made me finally realize that he was, in fact, not made out of stone. That was the first time ever where I considered the possibility of James Potter having a heart.

I remember walking around with the note for the following few weeks and reading it whenever I got bored with my homework or during lessons. Which was quite frequent.

As I was thinking about this, I noticed the little box labeled 'yes' carrying a little mark.

I quickly read the next one.

* * *

_**Characteristic 2: You walk really slow when you're with him-**_

I felt a soft smile creeping on my face as I read the second characteristic. A memory from Fourth Year came to mind and I let myself being transported into the past…

"_Class, settle down." Professor McGonagall had had some difficulty to quiet the class. We had all been a bit anxious for the group assignments she'd be handing out that day._

_For Transfiguration, we were supposed to work on this big project during the length of the school year with a partner that would be assigned to us by the Professor herself._

"_I don't think I should remind you that this project accounts for 35% of your final marks, which may not seem that much, but can make the difference between sitting in this classroom next year or not. Is that understood?" Prof. McGonagall had looked us all in the eye before picking up a scroll of parchment._

"_I will list the groups now," by now everyone had been at the ends of their seats. This was a big project after all and everyone wanted good marks._

"_Abbott, Theodore and Patil, Jeoffrey," The two Ravenclaw boys had high-fived each other._

"_Black, Sirius and Pettigrew, Peter," Sirius had grinned as he leaned back on his chair. He had winked at McGonagall and cried, "Thanks, Minnie, you won't regret it."_

_The class had had a laugh and McGonagall had pinched the bridge of her nose. "I think I already do, Mister Black. Maybe we should pair you up with…" Her eyes had slid through the class and had come to rest on Inez who had been zoning out on a certain blonde Ravenclaw. _

_I remember thinking that I should ask about that, but the happenings of that class had made me forget all about it._

"_Miss Jones…"_

"_What?!" Black had yelled, "You wouldn't do that to me!" while Inez, who was abruptly awoken from her daze, had been so angry and shocked that McGonagall would do such a thing, she had been incapable of forming words. _

"_It's bad enough she's on the Quidditch team with me! I can't stand any more hours with her than I already have to!"_

_Some would find it cruel to hear how Sirius talked about Inez, but since she hated him as much as he hated her, they didn't care much for insults being thrown at each other. Why exactly it was they hated each other, no one really knew._

_When she had found her voice, she had sputtered: "Please, no, Professor. I'll do anything to not have to work with that buffoon. My marks are nearly perfect; I won't let them suffer because that imbecile and Pettigrew may blow up the castle when working together!"_

_James Potter and Remus Lupin, two of Black's best friends, had roared with laughter at the look on Sirius' face when hearing Inez' remark, while I had giggled at the look of utmost horror on the her face._

"_Fine, you make a good point, Miss Jones. Mr. Black and Mr. Pettigrew are allowed to continue working together, though they must do so __outside__!" The boys had grinned at each other._

"_Let's continue, shall we?" The class had nodded and everyone calmed down._

"_Evans, Lily and Potter, James," That exact moment, it had been my turn to be laughed at. _

_Me? Work with Potter? I'm pretty sure the guy will have lost his eyes by the end of the week! This can't be happening… I had started to breathe heavily._

"_Evans, no need to start hyperventilating," I had heard James whisper in my ear. "I'm not that bad. Actually, I'm very good…" Lupin, who had been seated next to Potter, and had heard the remark, hit him over the head. _

"_James, cut it out!" he had hissed. "You two have to work together for the next year!"_

"_Right," James had said. "Sorry, Evans."_

"'_s Alright." I had muttered, still in shock._

_It's not that I didn't like Potter, nor did I like him. I just didn't really know this guy. And him being the popular jock, me being the one girl he can't get and therefore having him ask me out twenty times a week, didn't make me feel any more comfortable around him. That being one of the reasons I couldn't have been bothered to listen to the others being divided into pairs._

_After class, James and I had agreed to spend two evenings a week working on our project, starting that night._

_Months later, we were almost talking to each other as friends. _

"_You know," he had said one evening after leaving the library, "the difference couldn't be more noticeable."_

"_What do you mean?" I had asked through peals of laughter as I could see him having difficulties holding the books, looking at me and keeping his balance on the turning staircases at the same time._

"_Five months ago, you'd walk away from me quicker than a bunny with its tail on fire and now, it's as if a slug would be quicker… Didn't know you enjoyed my company that much…" He had winked and was gone in the blink of an eye._

Only later I had found out that he had been a bit scared of my reaction and had chosen the safe escape: a hidden passageway.

That night, when I was brushing my teeth and looking in the mirror, I had realized that he had been right. I did walk slower around him.

While remembering that little encounter, I could see the 'yes'-box being marked.

* * *

_**Characteristic 3: You pretend to be shy around him-**_

Though James and I had grown to be kind of friends while working on our assignment during Fourth year, I hadn't once heard from him during Summer Break, and I decided to let it go. It's not like I didn't have any other friends… And I certainly didn't need him in my circle of friends. And so I went on and headed into my Fifth Year. A memory of September First of last year popped into my head.

"_Lily!" A voice had yelled over the noises around me. I had whipped my head around to seek for the source of the sound when I found the wind getting knocked out of me. I recognized my blonde-haired, round-faced best friend, Alice Prewett._

"_Alice," I had laughed, though I noticed myself trying to look over her head and past my other two friends, Marlene McKinnon and Inez Jones. My absent state of mind wasn't missed by either one of the two. _

"_What you're looking at, Lil?" Marlene had asked me. She had whirled around and started scanning the crowd for any cute or familiar faces. _

"_Nothing really…" I had only shrugged. "I guess I was just looking for any possible candidates for the male Gryffindor Fifth Year Prefect."_

_Inez, though, had raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing one word of what I saying. I gave her a questioning glance and she had cocked her head to the side._

"_You're not really telling the truth…" She had started. "But you're not really lying either…" She had given me a pensive look and had then cocked her head to the other side._

"_What are you saying, Inez?" Marlene had asked her. The curly brown-haired beauty had only spared her a quick glance before focusing her gaze back on me. I had only stared at her with a look that clearly showed I didn't understand. Based on the looks of it, neither did Marlene nor Alice._

"_I'm saying that Lily here isn't really looking for the other Prefect. Please, we all know it'll be Wolfie!" The three of us had grinned at each other as we heard Inez' nickname for Remus Lupin, one of the notorious Gryffindor-pranksters. Inez and Remus had grown up together and had always been close. Because of their close friendship, she was aware of his Furry Little Problem as I heard James Potter once name it. When I thought of Gryffindor's Quidditch-hero, I felt my stomach making a weird motion._

"_It's a boy!" Inez had suddenly cried out. Three pairs of eyebrows had shot in the air while Inez had looked positively thrilled with her conclusion._

"_Excuse you?" I had sputtered out. Alice and Marlene had only stood there, completely stupefied. _

"_It all makes sense now…" Inez had grabbed the cart with my luggage and started rolling it towards the Express and went ahead of us while she had started muttering to herself. Every once in a while, I had been able to understand some of her musings. _

_I had started trying to make sense of what she was saying, when I had felt an arm wrapping around my shoulders._

"_Miss me?" A husky voice had suddenly whispered in my ear. I had given a little yelp of surprise as I looked at the person standing beside me._

"_James!" I had felt myself blushing to the roots of my hair when I realized who exactly had his arms wrapped around me. _

"_Hey Lily!" He had held out his hands, hoping for a hug and while I should have known he only meant it in a joking manner I had granted his wish. I surprised everyone standing around us, including myself._

"_Jeez, Prongs," James' best mate, Sirius Black, had cried gleefully. "Seems like you might have an actual shot this year... That or Evans's gone nuts over the summer!"_

I had been quick to detach myself from James, and in doing so, I had almost missed the feeling of emptiness at the loss of contact. My earlier blush had only intensified.

Waking up from my memory-turned-into-a-daydream, I remembered the feeling of shyness I experienced around James Potter. And coming to think of it, I realized that I had never been shy once in my life.

Not when I arrived on a school of magic where I only knew one person, not when I got asked out on my very first date, not when I went on my very first date. But now all of a sudden James hugs me and I blush?

Another box labeled 'yes' got marked by the test…

* * *

_**Characteristic 4: While thinking about him, your heart beats faster-**_

I was sitting there, remembering all kinds of different moments between myself and James Potter and I could feel my heart beating faster. Come to think of it, I remember another time, in the beginning of this year, where James Potter had been the cause of my erratic heartbeat. Or was it his bare chest?

I noticed my breath become a little shallower as I remembered that day.

_It had been one of the last hot days of summer and McGonagall had planned a test for her group of Seventh Year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws the following day. Therefore, my friends and I sat holed up in the Hogwarts Library trying to get the theory on Animagici down. _

_I kept getting distracted by the sudden shrieks and the splashing sounds coming from the open windows. Temperatures had risen drastically one last time and almost every pupil attending Hogwarts was lounging by the lake. Looking at the clock hanging on the wall and the nearly empty library, I sighed defeated and slammed my book shut. _

"_What's up, Lil?" Marlene asked, tearing her eyes away from her notes. She flipped a page and dipped her quill in the ink. She started scanning the next paragraph and quickly jotted down some notes. Quick, but neat nonetheless._

"_How can you work so diligently?" Inez asked baffled. The brunette had tossed her books aside 5 minutes after we entered the library claiming she already knew all of this stuff and had pulled out an issue of Witch Weekly._

"_How can you not?" Marlene retorted. "You've barely opened one book…"_

_Our curly-haired friend had only shrugged. "Call it a gift…" Was all she said. "Now, can we get out of here? I'm bored out of my mind and it's hot outside. Plus, I've this new bikini that I've been dying to show to those Hogwarts-boys…"_

_Alice had laughed, but had agreed. "Yes, Marly. We can do our boring studying under the beech tree beside the lake while not denying Frank a chance to drool over me." The other three of us had laughed at Alice's way of thinking before Marlene had caved. She had slammed her book shut and slung her book bag over her shoulder._

"_Fine…" She relented. "Let's go… Believe it or not, I'm ready to get out of this stuffy place, too…" _

_We all whooped, ignoring the harsh glares Madame Pince and some of the remaining students had given us. We just waved cheekily and hastily made our way to the Gryffindor Tower to change out of our robes and into some of our summer wear._

_When we had arrived by the Great Lake, almost every student had given up on his or her intent to study for any and all upcoming tests and were merely hanging out with friends, chatting about Merlin-knows-what. I smiled at the sounds of laughter in the sky._

_The four of us made our way to a spot underneath the beech tree and found the Marauders and Frank Longbottom trying to throw a Frisbee. Each attempt failed miserably and after their tenth failure, the girls and I could no longer keep our laughter inside._

_By the sounds of our giggles, the boys were alerted of our presence. I must admit, their appearances did not disappoint. All boys had donned their shirts, even Remus who was usually the most self-conscious one, and were granting the female Hogwarts-population quite the view. All five of the boys were quite well-built with flat stomachs, broad shoulders and muscled arms. But, based on the looks on their faces, they had also noticed _our_ attires of clothing. I could see them staring and trying to keep things together._

_I saw Pettigrew drinking in Marlene's golden hair, her slender silhouette and her feminine antics when she put her hair behind her ear or when flipping a page of the book she was still reading. At first glance, she seemed blissfully unaware of his staring but when I took a closer look, I saw her smirking a little. Clearly, she knew what kind of affect she was having on him. Marlene wasn't looking for a boyfriend right now, but that didn't mean she didn't like a game of Cat and Mouse. She had once admitted she knew what kind of affect she had on some guys and that she liked teasing them. Clearly she was playing a game of her favorite pastime right now… I shook my head, knowing Pettigrew didn't stand a chance of landing that one._

_Alice however, didn't exactly hide her intentions of strutting her stuff in front of Frank Longbottom. The poor guy seemed hit by a Stunning Spell as his jaw hung open and his eyes kept wandering over Alice's body. She had chosen a dark blue bikini which brought out her eyes of the same color and highlighted her recently cut, short dyed black hair with blue streaks through it. The short shorts she wore with them did nothing to hide the endlessness of her legs. And Frank wasn't the only guy who noticed. Some Huffelpufs who were playing a game of Marco-polo in the lake had noticed Alice' appearance also. They whistled and invited her to come join them when Alice noticed their staring and waved flirtily in response. She shook her head amusedly telling them 'Maybe…'  
Sweet, innocent, non-territorial Frank Longbottom seemed 5 seconds away from grabbing Alice, throwing her over his shoulders, and Summoning his broomstick before taking her up to Gryffindor Tower and hiding her from view. Knowing Alice, she'd be perfectly fine with it. And then some…_

_Remus's reaction to our swimwear, however, was quite unexpected and interesting to watch. He might have been trying to avoid it, but he kept looking over at Inez. She was applying a Tanning-Potion and she was taking her time. I had always had my suspicions, but it was then that Remus confirmed them. Remus was harboring a secret crush on his best girlfriend and it were moments like this that made it hard to hide that crush. His gaze roamed over her long, smooth legs that were outstretched on the grass and continued their way upwards. When he stared at her face, it held such a caring expression, I was tempted to look away. It seemed way too intimate. The brunette however, kept staring over to a group of Ravenclaws who were playing a game of volleyball a few feet away and had no idea of the emotions she invoked in her "Wolfie". _

_Black interrupted my musings by opening his big mouth. "Oi, Potter," He had yelled loudly. "You going to throw that thing or are you going to keep staring at Evans?"_

_I blushed when I heard my name in the accusation at Potter's address, but looked over to said person. I noticed he was indeed staring at me. Suddenly overcome by a burst of self-confidence, I winked saucily and James woke out of his daze. He grinned and twirled the object in his hands around. I saw him studying the object and debating whether or not he'd risk another flop in front of us girls. Black's cry of Potter's name could have attracted a crowd of the Marauders' female admirers, but when those _groupies_ saw the girls and I, they quickly retreated. And for once, I was glad for the alleged love-affair between me and Potter._

_Potter shrugged, mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'I'm James Potter, Gryffindor's star-Chaser… I should be able to throw this thing', and tried throwing the Frisbee… He failed again…_

_The eight of us laughed at the embarrassed look on Potter's face, Sirius' bark-like laughter the loudest of all. He patted Potter consolingly on the back and picked up the fallen Frisbee. _

"_Give it to me, Prongsie," He said. "I'll show you… You might want to duck, Jones… Wouldn't want this thing to cut off that pretty little head of yours…" He winked at Inez, the wink he gave all the girls. His flirty wink… Since when did Sirius Black flirt with Inez Jones?_

_Contrary to Black's usual preys, Inez only raised an eyebrow instead of falling at his feet._

"_Don't worry, Black… I doubt you'll get it as far as Potter got it…" She sneered as Black started sputtering. Clearly he hadn't expected her to be able to resist him. "I don't think it's necessary for any of us to step out of your way…"_

"_Let's make a bet…" Black said, determined to not let her get the best of him. "If I can get it farther than James has gotten it, you'll go out with me some time… And if for some reason I fail, the offer still stands, you know…" Black really _was_ flirting with Inez… Where did the mutual hatred go?_

"_Go on, then…" Inez urged him smirking. "Don't deny me the pleasure of mocking you any longer…" _

_At least the hatred was still one-sided…_

_Black furrowed his brow, whether it was in concentration or because she didn't buy into his charm I didn't know, but he grabbed the Frisbee (holding it upside down) and tried throwing it. As Inez had predicted, it didn't get quite as far as James's had gone and we all started laughing._

"_Told you, Black…" Inez grinned. "Guess next time, you could try to hold the Frisbee the right way up… Now if you'll excuse me, I feel like playing some volleyball…" She once again eyed the group of Ravenclaw-boys playing nearby and when their ball flew towards us, she handily caught it and twirled it around. "Later, Black…" And she set off for the other group of boys, never once looking back._

"_Weird, huh?" I suddenly heard coming from beside me. Potter was standing beside me, holding the Frisbee they couldn't quite figure out and looking in the same direction I was looking in. Inez had joined the Ravenclaw-boys and wound them all around her little finger. Minutes later, we could hear the boys teasing and trash-talking each other, fighting for her attention. I did however see her trying to get closer to one guy in particular, but being hindered by the others. The boy was too far off, though, to see who he was._

"_What is?" I asked, focusing on the boy beside me. _

"_Sirius flirting with Inez after years of hating her…" Potter said. I had laughed, happy that I hadn't been the only one to notice it. "Remus crushing on her…" My eyes got wide as Potter said that. _

"_Please," He said. "Surely you've seen it, too… You know what's the worst to come out of this?" I shook my head. "She has no idea of his feelings for her… In fact, it seems like there's already someone else that's caught her eye…" He nodded at the guy Inez tried to get closer to._

"_It's a shame…" I agreed. I still couldn't see who the guy was. "But don't you think it's for the best she doesn't know?" I took the Frisbee from his hands and started twirling it around in my hands._

"_How so?"_

"_If both of them got a thing for her, don't you think your friendship would suffer if she chose one of them? Don't you think the other would be the least bit angry that he wasn't with her, while he was forced to see his best friend and the girl he likes together?"_

_Potter shrugged, and in my absent state of mind, I threw the Frisbee at the boy standing across from me. In a reflex he caught it, and he tried throwing it back at me. For the twelfth time already, he missed. Another giggle escaped._

"_I can't do it…" He sounded really frustrated when picking up the plastic disk. He tried once more, but the result was the same. I could see his temper rising because of his lack of success._

"_You aren't used to something not going your way, are you?" I asked him, smiling._

"_What do you mean?" _

"_I mean, things usually just happen the way you want them to. You've never failed at anything sports-related before, have you?" He shook his head, a little ashamed._

"_I'll teach you," I said suddenly. He looked at me, surprised, and I could see the questions at my sudden proposition dancing in his eyes. I elaborated a little. "I'll teach you how to throw that thing, but you have to tutor me in Transfiguration…"_

"_Why not ask Inez or Alice? Or even Remus?" He asked curiously. "Why ask me?"_

_I shrugged, not really knowing why I asked him either. I looked at Inez and then Remus. She was finally talking to the blonde she had been so desperately trying to approach and he was watching his best friend and the blonde guy together. I noticed her twirling her hair around her fingers as she carried on her much anticipated conversation while her best friend's mood was quickly turning broody and sour, signaling Remus would be in no mood to talk tonight on patrol._

"_I have a feeling Transfiguration will be the last thing on Inez' mind tonight and I can see Remus's mood rapidly turning to 'less-than-friendly'… Besides, I know you're the best Transfiguration-student in our class. Now, take it or leave it…" I said._

"_I'll take it…" He grinned. My heart had started to beat faster as I took some steps closer and showed him how to throw the Frisbee… _

_Potter and I practiced throwing the Frisbee all afternoon and well into the evening, having a blast. Needless to say, I barely scraped an Acceptable on my Transfig-test the next day._

I woke from my memory, a smile on my face as I thought of the score I had received. My friends were absolutely horrified as they saw the red mark on top of my page. McGonagall had written an A, but had noted that I had been two seconds away of receiving my first ever P. While I was being chastised by Alice and Marlene, I took a look at Inez who was ever so discreetly trying to hide her score.

She wasn't quick enough. The sight of the P on top of her piece of parchment would forever be engraved in my brain. I could see her sighing at it, but she didn't seem mad about it. Not like I expected her to be. It was almost as if she was thinking: 'I might have failed this test, but I still had fun not studying…' I had wondered what she had been doing that afternoon after she joined those Ravenclaw boys.

Nevertheless, I felt my heart rate being slightly higher than it was usually at the memory that had coursed through my brain. Another box labeled 'yes' was marked…

* * *

_**Characteristic 5: By listening to his voice, you'll smile for no reason-**_

Having been reminded of that dreadful score of Inez's by my last memory, my curiosity was peeked and I started staring into the fire trying to figure out the cause of the mark. Inez, seemingly lost in thoughts too after shrugging off Alice and Marlene prying in her love life, followed my example and concentrated on the flames. The only sounds in the otherwise completely silent Common Room, were the ticking of the grandfather-clock in the corner and the merry crackling of the fire. Marlene and Alice took their former seats in front of the fireplace and set up another game of chess.

Suddenly, the comfortable silence was disturbed by the laughter of four male voices. The laughter sounded familiar and sure enough, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open to allow the Marauders entrance.

Peter Pettigrew entered first, followed by Sirius Black, then Remus Lupin and lastly James Potter. When the last entered a smile spread over my face. They hadn't seen us yet, too caught up in their tales of past pranks and plans for future-ones, and I took the time to take a good look at Potter. I hadn't seen him for three weeks since he and the other Marauders had gone home to Potter Manor and the girls and I had stayed at Hogwarts.

James seemed to have gotten taller over the past three weeks. He had also gotten a hint of a tan. But listening to him joking with his friends made it clear that even though he had changed a little on the outside, he was still the same James. Suddenly, he looked towards where my friends and I were seated and a grin appeared on his handsome face.

"Evening, ladies," Sirius greeted and went to sit beside Alice and Marlene. Peter joined the three of them and two teams of two were formed. Alice and Peter teamed up against Sirius and Marlene. An evening of trash-talking between 4 vehemently competitive individuals began in that moment…

Meanwhile, James had taken a seat on the floor whilst leaning against the chair I was seated in. He opened a bag of Chocolate Frogs, wordlessly handed me one and then watched our friends engaging in a fierce battle on the chessboard.

Remus had taken to sit with Inez. A wide smile had appeared on her face at the sight of her best friend and she had hugged him as soon as he was within reach. I really didn't understand how Remus could keep up the best friend-act. If I were him, I'd be nearly suffocating of the completely platonic closeness to the one I liked. Remus had pulled her head in his lap and was gently running his hands through the ends of her hair while she closed her eyes in contentment.

After maybe half an hour of comfortable quietness and just enjoying each other's company, the portrait hole opened again. We all looked up and saw Frank Longbottom entering the Common Room. Alice was quick to scramble to her feet and make her way over to the missing person of our tight-knit group of friends.

"Hey, Alice." The guy smiled. The pixie-haired girl silently and patiently waited until Frank put down his trunk and turned to face her once more.

"Hey, Frank." Was all Alice got out before throwing her arms around the poor guy's neck and flinging her body into his. That wasn't all she did, though.

No, Alice Prewett wove her hands through Frank's dark hair and as the latter's hands went around her waist to pull her closer, she jumped up so he could hold her up. Looking him deeply in the eyes, she smiled so widely her cheeks had to be hurting. She didn't seem to care though.

So very quietly my best friend whispered "Hi." before planting her lips over Frank's and a full-on make-out session began. I felt my mouth falling open in shock. Looking over to the others, I could see all of them wearing similar looks of shock.

After almost 10 minutes of watching Alice and Frank trying to eat each other's faces (Hey! Don't judge! It was like a train wreck; awful to look at, but impossible to look away from it…), Pettigrew cleared his throat. The two (lovebirds?) reluctantly pulled apart.

"Are we still finishing this game?" He asked. I grinned at the confused tone in his voice. "Because we're winning… But if you're too busy we can forfeit the game…"

Alice might have pulled her lips away from Frank's but she was still very much entangled with him and deeply staring in his eyes. "Forfeit…" She said. "I already feel like I've won…" Frank grinned and laid a kiss on her forehead. I felt myself smiling at the cuteness of it all.

I could see Potter, who was still sitting at my feet, getting up and brushing off the back of his pants. "Well, if you're winning," He said to Pettigrew. "You mind me joining you, Wormtail?"

"Well, eurhm," Pettigrew seemed hesitant to let Potter join him and seemed to be looking for an escape. My curiosity was peeked. "I was just about to ask Remus, Prongs… I'm sorry but we haven't played in so long and I feel like another Wormtail-Moony game…"

Black looked over at Remus who was still sitting with Inez's head in his lap and he smiled at the sight.

"Don't think Remus will be able to join us, Petey…" Black grinned. "Seems like you'll be stuck with Jamesie here…" I could see Pettigrew all but groan at that.

"What's so wrong with James playing on your team?" I asked curiously. Marlene chuckled. I looked at my friend.

"He sucks at this game…" She grinned. "I'd know, I've been beating him at this since we were eight and dragged to those Ministry-parties…"

"I must certainly do not suck…" Potter protested. "I admit to not being that much of a great player, but I'm not terrible either…"

"You kind of are, mate…" Frank seemed to have pulled away from Alice just long enough to come up for some air and make a jab at his friend. We all laughed at that.

"Am not…" Potter sulked. He sank back into his previous spot, beside my chair and I consolingly patted his shoulder.

"I'm sure you're not…" I spoke. He sighed, thanked me for my kind words, but continued pouting anyway. I don't know why, but I felt bad that he felt bad. I sighed, too.

"What?" Black asked as he heard our sighs. I glared at him. "What's the glare for, Evans?"

"For not letting your best friend play, that's why…" I said, a little harsher than intended. "What kind of friend does that?"

Pettigrew and Black looked at each other, groaned and admitted defeat. They invited Potter to join them. A smile suddenly lit up his whole face and I felt my temporary sour mood disappearing.

"Thanks, Lily!" Potter seemed as happy as a kid on Christmas Day as he took a seat besides Pettigrew. I waved his thanks away and looked back in the magazine while I nicked another of his Chocolate Frogs.

In the background I could hear James's ecstatic yells when he stole one of Black and Marly's pieces or his groans when he lost one of his. I smile at the sound of his voice.

Another box (labeled yes, of course…) was marked…

* * *

_**Characteristic 6: While looking at him, you can't see anyone else-**_

We spent the remainder of the evening together in the Common Room, laughing and just enjoying being in each other's presence. I snuggled further into my seat and tried getting even more comfortable than I already was. Once I was settled, I let my gaze wander over the people around me.

James and Peter arguing over a move James had made while Marlene and Sirius were laughing at the opposing team's unfortunate loss and celebrating their own victory.

Alice and Frank who were so entangled in each other you couldn't see where one ended and the other began. They were laying horizontally over the complete length of the couch with her halfway draped over Frank. She was resting her head on his chest and was whispering in his ear. Every once in a while he'd let out a burst of laughter at something she said and he'd kiss her on the forehead.

Next to Frank and Alice, Remus and Inez were spread out over the other couch. Inez had moved from her laying-position and was now resting against the armrest with her legs over Remus's lap. He was to be massaging her legs to just above her knees, seemingly without realizing it. His gaze kept being dragged over to her but she appeared to be far from here with her thoughts. I wonder what was going on in her head?!

I was startled a bit when James sank down in his previous spot at my feet, letting out a large and annoyed huff. I prodded his side with my sock-clad foot asking him what his problem was.

"I'm not that bad at chess, am I?" He sounded like a whiny eight-year-old who failed his first attempt at Quidditch. I shrugged, amusedly.

"Just a bit…" I smiled apologizing. "But your team did really well, though!"

"We did?" He asked hopefully. I nodded. "Really well."

He seemed a little happier after that and went back to his Chocolate Frogs Cards. Alas, only 2 minutes later he was bored with them. He went back to the whiny version of himself.

"Lily?"

"Hmm?"

"Liiiilllllllllyyyyyyyyyy…"

"Hmm?"

"What are you reading?"

"It's called a magazine, Potter…" Marlene grinned. "Surely you've heard of those?" Sirius laughed at the look on James's face. James stuck out his tongue and most unfortunately, went back to annoying me.

"Lily?"

"Yes, James?" I asked exasperated.

"What are you reading?"

"A magazine, James…" I answered not realizing I was repeating Marly's exact same words. "Surely you've heard of those?"

Everyone laughed and I lifted my head from the test. "What?" I asked.

"You just said the exact same thing I said…" Marlene cried out gleefully. "I guess the saying's true after all: great minds do think alike…" We all grinned.

James started grumbling. Clearly, he had enough of our 'pick-on-James'-evening. He made me scoot over on the loveseat I was sitting in and stole the magazine from my hands.

"Well, well, well…" It was his turn to make fun of me and I could feel myself already turning red. "Having ourselves a little love-quiz, are we, Lily-flower?" I tried to downplay it, not really willing to admit that he was the reason for all the boxes that were currently labeled 'yes'.

"Maybe…" Was all I said.

"Sooo…" Black suddenly drawled. "How's Jamesie doing?" I choked on my own spit.

"James?" I spoke bewildered. "What James? That James?" I asked while pointing at Potter. Surely, Sirius 'Oblivious' Black couldn't have figured out that Potter was the reason for all those 'yes'-boxes?

Clearly that hadn't been the best reaction I could have had. Black sprouted little devil horns and got a maniacal glint in his grey eyes.

"You are _so_ thinking of Prongsie here, Evans!" Black cried out gleefully. "Hahaha! Moony, I do believe you owe me a healthy amount of Galleons!"

"Why would he?" Inez had torn her gaze from the fire and was looking between the two best friends. Pettigrew, Marlene, Alice and Frank were also following the conversation with barely concealed curiosity.

Black didn't bother answering the brunette's question and held out his hand expectantly. Remus sighed and was about to pull out the money when Inez stopped him.

"Why do you owe him money, Wolfie?" Remus blushed at the nickname as we all snickered. Wolfie… That one never got old. Remus, however, wasn't about to spill the beans.

"Wolfie!" Inez started whining. She lifted her head from its resting spot on Remus' shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. She jutted out her bottom lip in an irresistible pout and I could see Remus falling for it; hook, line and sinker.

"Sirius and I made a bet," Remus said while looking her in the eyes. It seemed as if he had completely forgotten that the rest of us were there also. "And now he thinks he has won and wants to cash in on his winnings."

"What was the bet?" She asked him. She snuggled a little closer to him and automatically he rested his chin on her head and pulled her even closer.

"Sirius bet that Lily's feelings towards James were changing. He bet that she would be the one to ask him out before the end of the year." He said it as if it were no big deal. Clearly he had the wrong idea about this.

"WHAT?" I growled. I faced Black with downright murderous thoughts coursing through my brain.

"REMUS!" Inez growled at the same time. She sprang away from him and stood up in front of him. "How dare you bet on someone's love live? Especially the ones of some of your best friends!"

"Oh-oh…" I heard some people whispering in the background, but I couldn't care less at the moment. I was furious.

"Why would you think that?" I snapped at Black. "How did you even get that ridiculous idea in your head? Are you really that stupid, Black?"

"It's not ridiculous." Black said. "Just think about it: the hours the two of you spend together working on your homework… Just the two of you holed up in that library. You, Lily Evans, example-student extraordinaire, barely scraped an A on that Transfiguration test because you were too busy throwing that goddamn Frisbee at James! The little smiles and jokes… The hug the two of you suddenly share at the beginning of this year! Please Evans, don't even bother denying it!"

I started sputtering, realizing how this looked and I could see an almost victorious smile spreading over Black's face. Unfortunately for him, I found my voice just in time.

"Black! Do you even hear yourself?!" I asked indecorously. "You think I'm falling for _him_?" I asked while once again pointing at James. I was too angry to notice his hurt expression. "He's the one guy who's responsible for all the things that went wrong for me at this school! Ever since I stepped foot in this castle he's been trying to annoy the crap out of me! And you've been helping him! Make up your mind, Black!"

It seemed as if he wanted to get a word in, but I wouldn't let him. I just continued ranting like a madwoman.

"The first three years and a half the two of you have been pranking me 'till I was ready to pull my hair out! And once Potter hits puberty and starts noticing I am in fact a girl, you help him up the pranks so 'I would notice him'! You made sure all of his little plans went wrong so you could laugh at him! And now you want me to fall for him? Are you out of your mind?" I was breathing heavily, but still I wasn't finished.

"No, Black," I spoke icily. "You did not win that bet! And I will most certainly not ask Potter out, nor will I profess my love for him! The one way my feelings for your dear Prongsie have changed is that I no longer hate him. I can tolerate him and I may consider us to be friends. That's all there is."

I got up out of my seat, grabbed the magazine and whacked Black over the head with it. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have had enough of this ridiculous conversation and I'm heading to my bed. Good night."

I threw a look over my shoulder, seeing Marlene and Alice getting up and throwing apologetic glances at the boys and watching Remus get chastised by Inez for betting on people's feelings. With one last sigh of disappointment directed at her oldest friend, she stormed up the stairs and we followed her.

Downstairs the boys cringed at the sound of our slamming door. Minutes later, while I lay awake staring at the ceiling of my bed, I could hear another person in the dorm tossing and turning.

"Inez?" I whispered. "Yeah?"

"Are you awake?" "Yeah."

"Can't sleep?"

"No. Want to get out of here?" "Yeah."

And we got out of bed, out of our dorm and as we were about to descend the staircase into the Common Room, we got onto the landing and we had a clear view of the Common Room. The fire was still burning low and two bodies could be seen laying out in front of it.

"Is that Remus?" I asked her. She nodded curtly. "Are you still mad at him?" She shrugged.

"I guess I'm not so much mad as I am disappointed." She sighed.

"Why are you so disappointed?" I had noticed that she seemed way more aggravated by this than Marlene or Alice… But I didn't understand why.

"Don't be mad, Lils…" She begged me as she looked me in the eye. "But the reason I reacted the way I did was because of James, Lil…"

I sighed as I looked down on the two guys laying in front of the fire. Both of them were staring into it and hadn't moved a muscle since Inez and I had taken our spots. Occasionally a sigh escaped one of them but they did not speak.

"Why?" I asked her quietly. "Why aren't you mad about this?"

"Answer my question first, Lil: why are you mad?" She asked. "You could have just laughed it off, saying something like 'Oh, James is not the reason this is all marked yes, it's Frank…' We would have had a laugh and the matter would be closed. But you got all defensive…"

I continued to stare out in front of me, thinking about an answer to your question. "Because," I heard myself say after minutes of silence. "James was the reason for those 'yes'-boxes… I was only halfway through the test and if the box labeled 'Congrats! You're in love!' or that other one 'You're falling!' would've lit, all hell would've broken loose…"

"You think one of those boxes would've lit up?" I could no longer feel her gaze resting on me and I assumed she was looking at Remus and James, too. I nodded, hesitantly.

"I was in the sixth characteristic and the five previous ones were a yes…" I admitted. "And every characteristic was something that made me think of James…"

"Do you want one of those boxes to light up?" I thought about her question, but I didn't really have an answer to it. I just shrugged again. "I don't know."

"Can I ask you something?" She nodded, curtly. It seemed like she already knew what my question would be. "Why are you so disappointed in Remus for betting on James and me?"

"Because Remus re-opened an old wound of James and I know how much that particular wound hurts…" Was her cryptic answer. Summoning my Gryffindor-courage I decided to prod a little deeper. Knowing of her violent tendencies when one asked her about her feelings, I increased the space between us a little more. I saw the left corner of her mouth lifting slightly.

"Care to explain?" Was all I said. She nodded and took a deep breath before starting.

"Remus knows how much James cares for you. Actually, we're pretty sure the guy's head over heels in love with you. And the saddest part is that James is in love with someone who doesn't want him back. You've been holding the poor guy's heart since Christmas Break of Third Year and you've never returned any of those feelings. So every time James sees you leaving for Hogsmeade on a date, or sees a guy asking you out, or sees you laughing with someone else no matter how innocent it may be, it feels as though someone rams Godric's sword through his already battered heart…"

"I don't understand how the bet comes into all of this…" I spoke carefully. She ran her hands over her face as she sighed.

"Like I said, Remus knows about James's feelings for you." I nodded, indicating I was following. "And the moment the word of the bet came out, you started sprouting how friends was all you and James were ever going to be. I could see how his face fell in that moment. You broke his heart… again…"

"And why do you all of a sudden feel so bad for James Potter?" I asked her curiously. "If I expected one of you three girls to be mad for such inconsiderate behavior, I say it would have been Marly…"

"Because I know what James feels like…" I had thought she would shut up after that bit of information, but she continued. That must've been the first time in the five and a half years of knowing her that she opened up like that over her feelings.

"Because I know what's it like to see the person you love every single day and knowing they don't return the sentiment. Because I know what it's like to see them get asked out on dates and see them accept. I know what it's like to be on the outside, begging to find a way into their heart… And I know what it's like to never find that way in…"

She pushed herself away from the banister the two of us were leaning on. She rubbed my shoulder, rested her head against mine for a moment and then made her way into our dorm. The door fell shut and I zoned in on James.

He seemed so lost… So young in that moment… For once I didn't see James Potter, Quidditch hero/spoiled bratty wealthy pureblood/one half of Gryffindor's pranking-duo but merely the young man he was becoming. And I liked what I saw…

I was so lost in my musings that the tear tracks on Remus's cheeks completely went unnoticed. It was as if I didn't see anyone else while watching James. I sighed and then returned to my cozy bed.

I took one last glance at the sixth characteristic, thinking about the conclusion I had come to just moments ago and I almost smiled at the sight of the 'yes'-box being marked.

I put the magazine on my bedside table and fell asleep, haunted by the troubled expression I had seen on James Potter's face.

* * *

_**Characteristic 7: You'll start listening to slow songs-**_

The next day the girls and I weren't joined by the Marauders at breakfast, something that had become a regular occurrence ever since the start of this year. They took their seats at the end of the Gryffindor table while we took seats near the middle for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I could see them sneaking glances, but we chose not to acknowledge them. Poor Frank was caught in the middle, but joined the boys after an encouraging smile of Alice.

Suddenly Inez let out a heavy sigh. "What?" I asked her while taking a bite out of my apple. She waved my question away, but remained focused on whatever it was she was looking at. I decided to let it pass.

"What are we doing tonight?" Alice asked over dinner. I shrugged, suggesting a quiet evening in the Common Room.

"You want to spend your evening in the Common Room?" Marlene asked disbelieving. "After your little spat with the Marauders last night?"

"Don't you think Gryffindor Tower might be a bit too small for another one of those?" Alice asked. "I was surprised none of the other Gryffindors came down once you start going off on Black, Lils!"

I groaned and dropped my head in my hands as I thought of last night's activities. "Thank God they didn't! Can we change the subject back to this night, please?" Marlene and Alice grinned, but agreed nonetheless.

"What do you want to do, Inez?" Marlene asked our friend. The brunette had been awfully quiet today. She shrugged as she continued playing with the remainders of her fruit salad.

"I've got Quidditch practice at eight. I think I'm just going to head out once dinner's over and stay out. Don't feel like being in this evening…"

High-pitched giggles suddenly sounded from the Ravenclaw-table and we looked over at the sudden burst of noise. Their Quidditch team had only now joined their Housemates for dinner and all of them were still in their Quidditch-uniforms. Immediately a whole swarm of girls got closer and tried snagging themselves one of the seven players. I rolled my eyes as I caught a whiff of the desperation coming off of these girls.

"I'm sorry…" I heard coming from beside me, before Inez got up and sprinted from the Great Hall. Many curious admirers stared after her, but only one left his friends seated at their table and went after her.

I looked confused at my two remaining friends and saw Marlene looking at me with the same confusion. Alice's gaze only held pity for our friend.

"What was that all about?" Marlene asked. Alice looked back over to the Ravenclaws and their groupies when I suddenly noticed a familiar blonde head.

_The guy from my James's Frisbee adventure-fantasy…_ I thought to myself. Unfortunately, I was once again looking at the back of this guy's head. Inez's quick retreat suddenly made sense.

"That's him, isn't it?" I asked Alice while motioning to the blonde. She understood what I was talking about and nodded. Marlene looked lost. Not wanting her to feel left out, I explained.

"Remember the test that declared Inez to be in love?" Marlene nodded. "He's the lucky guy…" I pointed at the Ravenclaw and Marlene's face fell. "Yeah, I don't think we'll see Inez until at least 10 PM…"

"Let's just go to the Tower." Alice suggested. "We'll get the House-elves to bring us some snacks and we can pig out on those while we spent an evening just the four of us…"

Marlene and I agreed as Alice ran to Frank asking him if he would tell Inez where we were. He promised he would and then left with James and Sirius for the Quidditch Pitch. Alice, Marlene and I made our ways up to Gryffindor Tower.

3 hours later, the time was nearing 9 PM, I sat in the windowsill in my dorm and focused on the three lonely figures I could see hovering over the Quidditch Pitch. I could see them throwing a Quaffle at each other and every once in a while one of them would attempt to score. I sighed.

"Anyone else who thinks it's too quiet around here?" Alice suddenly asked. She sat on her bed painting her toenails and had caught my sigh.

Marlene, tearing her gaze from the book she was currently reading, nodded. "How about some music?" She suggested. I shrugged and waved my wand at the record player that stood hidden in the corner of our dorm.

A slow melody started playing and I recognized the song as 'Distance' by Christina Perri. I let myself be swept off my feet by the emotions of the song. I felt the singer's pain at loving someone who couldn't understand her feelings towards them. I had fallen in love with this song the moment I heard it and couldn't bear to spend ten months at Hogwarts without it so I brought it with. Pretty soon, my best friends could sing along with it, too.

"That okay?" I asked them as I went over to my bed and grabbed the magazine I had left there the previous evening. I retook my seat on the windowsill and was joined by Leo. The little guy curled up on top of my stomach and fell into a deep slumber. I giggled at the cute sight and found the page I was looking for.

I quickly found the characteristic I was looking for and hearing the final notes of Christina's song, the 'yes'-box was marked…

I smiled at it, I had almost been expecting it and found myself to actually be happy to see it appear. I rested my head against the wall as I continued shifting my eyes to the magazine in my lap and the figures outside.

* * *

_**Characteristic 8: He becomes all you think about-**_

I continued watching the figures until it was too dark outside. It was half an hour later when Inez stomped her way into our dorm, grunted out something that could be considered a greeting and disappeared in the bathroom to take a shower. I sighed at the obvious mood my friend was in.

I wondered if James was in a similar mood. Had something happened at the Quidditch Pitch? Why else would he, Inez and presumably Black have stayed so long when practice should've ended around 10? I took a look at the clock beside Marly's bed and saw it was almost midnight.

Inez came out of the bathroom wearing her usual sleeping attire and I could still see some water droplets clinging to her skin. Her hair was in a complete disarray from toweling it and again I noticed my thoughts straying to James Potter.

Was he coming out of the shower too? What would he look like? Would his hair be standing even straighter up than it usually did or would it for once be lying flat on his head? Would he be wearing a shirt?

_Lily Evans!_ My mind chastised me for my less than innocent thoughts. _That is your Housemate you're thinking about! The one whose heart you broke last night according to your best friend!_

I blushed a little at what I was thinking and focused on the conversation at hand.

"You okay?" I asked Inez. She had plonked herself on her bed, not bothering to pull the sheets back and had grabbed a magazine. Only the magazine had apparently bored her or it had said the wrong things because she crumpled it and started throwing the wads into the fire. She shrugged.

"Not really." She answered.

"How's James?" I found myself asking. She lifted an eyebrow and I could almost see a spark of her curious nature flaring up in her hazel eyes. Only the spark died as soon as it appeared. "I could see the two of you and Black, at least I think it was Black, flying until long after practice…" I explained.

"Turns out James feels as bad as I do…" Was all she said. She was no longer looking me in the eye but staring up at the canopy of her bed.

"Why?" Marlene asked.

"Why what?" Inez asked in return. "Why does he feel bad? Or why do I feel bad?"

"Both." Alice answered. She had tossed her magazine aside and had taken a seat on Marlene's bed, next to Inez's.

"James feels bad because Lily broke his heart last night." She suddenly turned to face me. "Oh, by the way Lil," She said sarcastically. "Congratulations, you succeeded. James asked me to tell you that was the last time you made him feel like that. He says he's going to try and move on. He can't handle the heartbreak anymore…"

My breath hitched and I hung my head low. "That bad, huh?" Marlene asked. She probably saw the fallen look on my face.

"Worse." Inez shrugged. "Told me that maybe I should follow his example. He also said that it wasn't worth the heartache to love someone who clearly would never love you."

"I'm so sorry, Lily…" Alice said. I was still in the windowsill and looked at the three of them. I grimaced.

"Why?" I asked teary. "It's not like he's wrong. I have been ignoring his advances, I have been rejecting him and if he likes me as much as he says he does, then I've been breaking his heart over and over again. I'm surprised he held on for so long."

"Are you crying?" Inez asked disbelieving.

"No," I hiccupped. "But I want to…"

"You broke his heart, Lily…" Inez said coldly. "Not the other way around." And she harshly shut the hangings around her bed. The three of us could hear her casting Silencing Spells that would ensure she wouldn't hear what we said and we wouldn't hear her.

I sighed as the other two girls gave me sympathetic looks. I waved them away.

"She's right…" Was all I said. "I broke his heart, not the other way around."

"Still," Marlene said while looking at the hangings that hid our friend. "That doesn't give her the right to be so harsh. I wonder what's gotten into her?"

"She relates to James's heartache…" Alice explained. "She understands what he's going through and it brings up her own heartache." Marlene looked like she was going to say something else to defend me, and while I was glad for her display of loyalty, I no longer had the energy to listen to them discussing mine and Inez's actions.

"Go to bed," I advised them gently. "We've got a long day of classes ahead of us, tomorrow."

"Night, Lily…" Both of them said, clearly understanding that I did not want to talk about it. I felt grateful for their understanding natures. "Night…"

Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all that night. I stayed in place, in that windowsill, looking out over the darkness that engulfed Hogwarts and its grounds and felt my heart break at the thought of James's broken heart.

The guilt wrapped itself around me like a blanket and I let myself drown in it, my thoughts solely on a broken Gryffindor boy.

The eighth box carrying the label 'yes' was marked as a tear fell onto the open pages…

* * *

_**Characteristic 9: You get high off of his smell-**_

The remainder of the week went by without me noticing it and before I knew it, I was standing with Remus, Peter, Marlene and Alice in the stands watching the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw Quidditch Game.

The score was tied and both teams were fighting like hell for a place in the finals. Whoever won, would face Slytherin in next month's final game of the season. All of a sudden Madame Hooch's whistle blew, signaling a foul had been made. I could see one of the blue players descending until he was on the ground.

"Oh, boy," Theo Jordan commentated. "Seems like Gryffindor Chaser Jones messed up that shot. Ravenclaw Keeper Finnegan caught that Quaffle with his face." Roaring sounded from the Slytherins while Ravenclaws were booing Inez.

"Oh, shut up, would you!" Remus suddenly exclaimed. "I thought you were supposed to be the mature and responsible House?! This was an accident! A blind guy could see that!"

The Ravenclaws pulled faces at his words, but continued booing anyway. All of a sudden an ear-splitting sound echoed around the Pitch. Someone had cast the Sonorus-charm on themselves. Inez's voice reverberated.

"Shut up, would you?!" She sounded seriously ticked off and all of a sudden the booing stopped. "Finnegan's okay! It's just a broken nose! He'll live! And yes," She said facing the Ravenclaw spectators. "He'll continue to play. Madame Pomfrey's on her way here to patch him up and the game will resume in 10 to 15 minutes."

The crowd was still muttering but seemed slightly more at eased that their Keeper could resume playing. "And yes, the Gryffindors recognize this as a foul even though Madame Hooch doesn't, so the Ravenclaws will get a foul shot!"

She took off the charm she had cast upon herself and flew towards us, with Potter, Black and Frank right behind her. Alice kissed her boyfriend as he drew near and the four of them hovered in front of us.

"You okay?" I asked Inez. Things had gotten better since Monday evening, but I could only imagine the mood she was in right now.

"I'm fine." She answered curtly. "Just can't believe they think I'd lower my standards to foul play. As if I would deliberately hurt a member of the opposing team! That's what Black does! If I wanted Finnegan hurt, I would've gotten Black to do it!"

"Hey," Remus said gently. They had resolved their issues, but she was still carrying somewhat of a grudge. He had put his hand underneath her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. "We all saw this was no foul, okay? You don't need to beat yourself up over this."

"Yeah, Jones," Pettigrew spoke up. "You never care what other people think about you or your actions in the game, why start now? Besides, the only reason they insisted on that shot was because they knew they need every shot they get!"

"Thanks Pettigrew!" Inez winked at the boy and he turned beet-red. I hid my smile behind my hand.

"Hey, Wolfie," It was the first time she called him that since their fight and everyone could see it pleased him to hear the nickname. "Thanks." She gave him a real, genuine smile and a kiss to the cheek and turned back to the pitch to see how Finnegan was doing.

"What was that all about?" I asked with tattering teeth. A mean north-western had picked up and I found myself wishing I hadn't left my scarf in our dorm. James had obviously seen my shivering and unwrapped his from around his neck.

"James…" I said softly as he handed it to me. "You don't have to."

"Just take it, Evans," He sighed. He was tired and the team was waiting for him to resume the game. "I haven't got all day and I know you don't want to get sick."

"Thanks." I said while looking in his eyes. He only nodded curtly and joined his teammates. I sighed wistfully and felt two arms wrapping around my waist. I rested my head on Alice's shoulder as I watched our team waiting for the Ravenclaw Chaser to take the shot. He missed and Inez took possession of the Quaffle.

"You okay?" Remus suddenly asked from beside me. I shrugged as I wrapped James's scarf around me. "You want to talk about it?" I shook my head. "It hurts, doesn't it?"

"What does?"

"Seeing James acting so coldly." I nodded. "Now you know what he's been through since Third Year." I looked up, shocked at his words. "I'm not mad if that's what you think…" He said softly. "Just incredibly frustrated…"

"How come?" I asked. My question was muffled since I had buried my nose in the soft material around my neck. I caught a whiff of James's cologne and instantly fell in love with the scent.

"I know betting on you guys was wrong, believe me Inez made that very clear," He shuddered and I grinned at the look of shame on his face. "But I do believe Sirius had a point: James is madly in love with you and you seem to be falling."

"Was…" I said.

"Was what?"

"Was madly in love with me…" I spoke. "Is…" He answered.

"Why are you so frustrated?" I asked after a moment of silence. He sighed.

"Because the two of you could be so great together, but you're so stubborn." He said. "Every time you seem to be making progress, one of you pulls back. And the saddest part is that it's painstakingly obvious for everyone who spends enough time with the you two…"

"What about you?" He looked at me, an eyebrow raised. "What about your feelings for your best friend?"

"They don't matter." His tone turned stony and I realized I had reached in too deep.

"I'm sorry for asking…" I apologized. He groaned as he realized how harsh he'd been.

"And I'm sorry for being so rude…" He said. "It's just… She has found the one she wants and the idiot is too blind to see how she feels about him. And… I'm just…"

"On the outside looking in?" I suggested. He nodded. "She feels the same way…"

"I know…" Was all he said before the both of us resumed watching the game. A moment later, the Gryffindors in the stands erupted in a gigantic mass of scarlet and gold cheers as our seeker, William Wood, held up the Snitch.

As if it were rehearsed, all the Gryffindors stood up and started shooting red and gold sparks in the air. The team made a victory lapse around the pitch and we all applauded. Even the Ravenclaws did.

Hours later, the celebratory party ended and the girls and I crawled into our beds. We all laid on our back, staring at the canopies of our beds and listening to the last of the partygoers downstairs.

"Congratulations, Inez…" I said. "How does it feel to be in the finals?"

She raised herself onto her elbows and grinned from ear to ear. "One word, dear Lily: amazing…" She flopped back on her back, still caught up in her adrenaline-rush.

"Well, the team deserved it…" Marlene spoke proudly. "How's Finnegan, though?" The smile on Inez's faced was immediately replaced by a scowl.

"Fine…" She said. "The Ravenclaws not so much… They kept throwing me nasty looks when I arrived in the Great Hall this evening…"

"How come you were late?" Alice asked while petting Leo. The kitten had been lounging on her bed when we came up and was too lazy to join his owner on her bed. He had just stayed put and had taken to Alice for the night.

"I was in the Hospital Wing with Finnegan…" A rosy hue colored our friend's cheeks and the scowl was turned into a lovesick grin. "I felt bad for leaving him alone in the Hospital Wing when I was the reason he was in there in the first place…"

And suddenly it clicked… The rosy hue… Why she had been so pissed off when the Ravenclaws accused her of hurting Finnegan on purpose… Why she was late to dinner…

"Finnegan's a blond, right?" She nodded with her eyes closed. "And he only joined the Ravenclaw team last year, right?" She nodded, again. And suddenly, Marlene understood it too and Alice was grinning proudly at us.

"You finally figured it out!" She smirked. "Took you long enough!"

"What?" Inez had noticed the change of atmosphere and the little devil horns we were all sporting. "What happened?"

"It's Finnegan!" I squealed. "Finnegan's the guy you were thinking about while taking that quiz!"

"Whaaaaaaaat?" She tried denying, but it was no use. "Noooooooo… Why would you think that?"

"It so is!" Marlene shrieked. "Oh my Merlin! Inez, you're hopelessly in love with Rob Finnegan!"

I stifled my giggled in James's scarf I was still wearing and sneakily caught another whiff of his cologne. I felt butterflies stirring in my stomach as I was engulfed in the scent and I sighed happily.

"Lily… Why the satisfied sigh? That's the sigh of people in love…" Inez asked.

"You'd know, wouldn't you?" Marlene pestered. Inez threw her a harsh glare and eagerly turned to me, hoping for a change of subject.

"Are you still wearing James's scarf?" She asked suddenly, baffled at the sight of me in my pajamas and a scarf wrapped around my neck. I looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. My blush rivalled hers from earlier.

"It is!" She shrieked. "You're breathing in his scent! I bet you're feeling on cloud nine, aren't you?" I nodded, annoyed that she had been able to read me that easily.

"Where is that magazine?!" She started grumbling. "It's got to be here somewhere!"

"What are you looking for?" I asked her curiously. Now I understood her eagerness to change the subject.

"The magazine with the test…" I grabbed it from my bedside table and threw it at her, not knowing why she needed it. If I had known, I would've quickly thrown it in the fire in the Common Room. "Thanks, Lil!"

She quickly found the page she was looking for and read the characteristic out loud. "Aha!" She yelled out. She smirked as she looked at me. "You get high of off his smell!"

Alice and Marlene roared at that and Alice spoke up. "That's a definite yes!"

And it was… When Inez forced the magazine in my hands, the box immediately carried a 'yes'-label. I sighed, already knowing what the outcome of the test would be…

And secretly? I liked it…

* * *

_**Characteristic 10: You realize you're always smiling when you think of him-**_

"What happens now?" Alice asked once we all calmed down a little. We all raised ourselves into sitting positions and looked at each other.

"What do you mean?" Marlene asked her. She sounded like she would be perfectly content to lay there for the rest of the weekend.

"Well," Alice smirked devilishly. "Inez is in love, Lily's falling in love…" I tried to glare at her, but her words made a vision of James Potter appear in my head and all of a sudden I just wanted to smile. "What are we going to do about it?"

"Nothing…" Inez whispered. Suddenly, she sounded so small and her playful nature from earlier disappeared. "He has no idea and I don't want to risk putting my heart out on the line…"

"What about you, Lily?" Marlene asked. Getting knocked out of my James-daze, I stared at her.

"Sorry?" I said and I could see Alice smiling.

"Save yourself the effort, Marlene… She's off in James Potter-land…" I stuck out my tongue at Alice but had to admit I was remembering the look of elation on James's face when his Seeker caught the Snitch.

"Aw," Inez grinned. "Look at that smile!" I threw a pillow at her head.

We all laughed when it hit her full in the face and knocked her flat on her back.

"Lily Evans," She growled. "I declare a war!" I shrieked as she advanced on me and the four of us each grabbed our pillows.

"You're on!" I laughed. "But Marlene's on my team!"

"Alice! Let's beat these two to a bloody James-loving pulp!" She cackled evilly and we all snorted at the sound. "Too much?" She asked.

"Just a smidge!" Alice winked. "Ready?" She asked us. Marlene and I had taken our positions near the door to our dorm and got ready to run out. "GO!" Alice yelled and the two of us stormed downstairs, the other two chasing us like madwomen.

The Common Room was near empty with only the Marauders and Frank lounging in front of the fire when we burst through. All five of them wore amused expressions as they saw us whacking each other with our pillows.

"Sweet!" Black cried out. "Pillow fight with girls in their jammies!" The other boys rolled their eyes at Black's perverted ways, but enjoyed the show nonetheless.

I caught James looking at me and threw him a wink. I smiled at the blush that crept up his neck as he quickly looked away. Hurt and distracted, Inez took advantage of my absent state of mind and whacked me over the head.

"Jones!" I growled as she pulled me from my thoughts. "Get back here!" Laughing like a maniac, she darted over to Remus and hid behind his back. He held up his hands in innocence and tried getting out of the way. She wouldn't let him as she jumped onto his back and made him her human shield.

"Let Remus go and fight, you cowardly Gryffindor!" I taunted her. Everyone laughed at the mock-offended face she made, but I only focused on the sound of one person's chuckles. Once again, I was punished for my absent-mindedness.

"Alice!" She laughed, too and following Inez's example she found her own human shield. Black got dragged into this whole mess but didn't look like he would complain.

An hour and many ripped pillows later, the nine of us were sprawled out in the Common Room. The boys had changed into their pajamas and we just laid there, soaking up the warmth of the fire. My thoughts drifted back to the boy whose legs I was leaning against. I smiled.

"Accio magazine!" I could hear the smirk in Inez's voice when she spoke. The magazine fell open on the right page in my lap.

"Read it!" She commanded. I threw her a begging look, but she was unmovable. I glared at her and she just smiled. I stuck out my tongue before reading what she wanted me to.

"You realize you're always smiling when you think of him…" I felt the legs stiffening and trying to get away from me. I wouldn't let them. Instead, I just leant my head against the adjoining knees.

"What box is labeled?" Alice said knowingly. I stuck my tongue out at her, too.

"The 'yes'-box…" I said.

* * *

_**Even though there was no specific name mentioned, you were thinking about him as you read this-**_

"There's one last line, you know…" Inez sing-songed. "What does it say?"

I looked at her, appalled that she would make me say it out loud where the object of my daydreams was sitting with us. She just urged me to continue. I took a deep breath, though scooting a little closer to Black and Pettigrew before opening my mouth.

"…"

"I can't hear this…" James suddenly got up and ran up to his dorm, all of us jumping at the sound of the door slamming closed.

"_James Potter_…" I whispered.

Peter Pettigrew fell to the ground…

* * *

**Note from the author:** Hey all! This is it! What did you think? Do you want me to write an epilogue or does the story end here? Let me know through a review? Thanks for reading! -RPL


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